NPD: Analog Man Sun Face BC183

So, I've been searching for a Fuzz Face that suits my needs. I had a MJM London that I loved with the volume rolled back, but it was a little too muddy with the volume up for leads. So, after some recommendations, I grabbed a BC183, the "warmest" of silicon Sun Face that AM sells, but still brighter with more fuzz on tap than the germaniums.

So, popped in a cheap carbon battery and fired it up today with mixed results. First tried it with a Jaguar with Seymour Duncan pick ups, and found it a little too "tizzy"...yes it was brighter than the London but not a good brighter. And the clean wasn't as good but I was expecting that. Next, SG Melody Maker with a Gibson P94 and the results were the same. So, grabbed my Rickenbacker 330, which has the vintage pickups, and that's the best match. I think the low output of the 330 really matches well with the BC183. The tizzy high end wasn't there, and plenty of output on tap. But, gets a nasty top end sizzle when I roll the volume back. Overall, better than the JH-F1 I had with BC-108 transistors. But, not exactly what I was hoping it to be,

Maybe I'll track down another MJM London but with a bias knob...or maybe a germanium Sun Face with a Sun Dial

The BC183 doesn't have much clean up going on. I bought mine because I wanted to use it for a big full fuzz tone on leads - which it did very well! I didn't like it for much else. But for leads, it's probably one of the best fuzz pedals I've used. Sounded amazing with a band too, amazing sustain.

The thing with the London was I thought if the full one this had a little clarity I could play my bands entire set with just this pedal...but I'd roll of the volume for a lead and it would actually sound quieter in a band setting because the tone thickened up so much. So, I thinking the BC183 might get me there...maybe I'll try it in a rehearsal before I put it on the chopping block. It does sound nice with the Rick.

To be clear, not bashing this pedal in any way, it does sound good, but I don't think it's what I'm looking for

So, I've been searching for a Fuzz Face that suits my needs. I had a MJM London that I loved with the volume rolled back, but it was a little too muddy with the volume up for leads. So, after some recommendations, I grabbed a BC183, the "warmest" of silicon Sun Face that AM sells, but still brighter with more fuzz on tap than the germaniums. So, popped in a cheap carbon battery and fired it up today with mixed results. First tried it with a Jaguar with Seymour Duncan pick ups, and found it a little too "tizzy"...yes it was brighter than the London but not a good brighter. And the clean wasn't as good but I was expecting that. Next, SG Melody Maker with a Gibson P94 and the results were the same. So, grabbed my Rickenbacker 330, which has the vintage pickups, and that's the best match. I think the low output of the 330 really matches well with the BC183. The tizzy high end wasn't there, and plenty of output on tap. But, gets a nasty top end sizzle when I roll the volume back. Overall, better than the JH-F1 I had with BC-108 transistors. But, not exactly what I was hoping it to be, Maybe I'll track down another MJM London but with a bias knob...or maybe a germanium Sun Face with a Sun Dial

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I'm like you. I've found very few Si fuzzes that work for me. I hate that static or sizzle that's in the fuzz. But I also hate the way ge fuzzes go from the worlds warmest coolest overdrive to an uber-squashed mess when you crank them. Other Than that I love Ge fuzz. Warm and wooly.

But just this week i gigged out the first time with the Analogman astrotone. It seems to be the best of all worlds. I loved it. First impressions still but it really worked well. Never too dark, no ultra-compression when cranked. Plenty of sparkle without the sizzle. I'm not usually a stacker, but I played the astrotone into a timmy and never turned either off the rest of the night. Two thumbs way up, as they say.

Also you might try the bearfoot fuzzes. I have a arctic white and the mail truck is carrying around a pink purple fuzz as we speak. They seem to have all that's good about fuzzes and none of the finnickiness. We'll see.

+1 on the AM Astrotone>TIM. A great pairing with my Goodsell S17 head. I happen to like germanium fuzz face pedals quite a bit. I just picked up a London Fuzz 2 knob Ge that I really like. I am also using the London>TIM so when I roll my guitar volume down to 8, I don't lose a lot of overall volume and I get beautiful sparkle and bite from the London.

I have previously owned an AM NKT275 normal gain with the sundial. It was a nice pedal that cleaned up great. Vintage sounding fuzz that preferred single coils. The other fuzz face that I would highly recommend is the Monsterpiece Ge. The pedal has a voice switch, input bias and transitor bias knobs. Very versatile and may still be my favorite.

The Astro Tone has been on my list. I've been through a lot of fuzz pedal, I like having them around for recording, but several I've kept like the Wattson FY-2 and Bigfoot Spaghetti Western I don't want to haul around to gigs because they work for only a few songs...and can get lost in the mix. And I keep telling myself I like Big Muffs...currently have a SUF Civil Unrest and a DBA Fuzz War (which doesn't really sound like a Big Muff to me, it's like a Fuzztone meets Big Muff) but I find myself constantly twiddling the knobs with those. If I could find the right Fuzz Face I think I could really get down to just a tuner and that and not "want" (because no one really "needs" a lot those pedals) the other stuff except in the studio. At least with my rock band.

Americana gig I have...well they want it to sound "just like the record" so I need some extra ********.

The other thing I am doing with the London Fuzz is I backed off a little on the fuzz knob and added a little more level. My settings are fuzz 2:00 and level 3:00-3:30. It seems to be working pretty nice. I do agree that the pedal can get a little wooly with the guitar volume on 10. I would like to try one of the AM Silicon offerings: BC108, BC109, or BC183. Good luck with your search.

The Astro Tone has been on my list. I've been through a lot of fuzz pedal, I like having them around for recording, but several I've kept like the Wattson FY-2 and Bigfoot Spaghetti Western I don't want to haul around to gigs because they work for only a few songs...and can get lost in the mix. And I keep telling myself I like Big Muffs...currently have a SUF Civil Unrest and a DBA Fuzz War (which doesn't really sound like a Big Muff to me, it's like a Fuzztone meets Big Muff) but I find myself constantly twiddling the knobs with those. If I could find the right Fuzz Face I think I could really get down to just a tuner and that and not "want" (because no one really "needs" a lot those pedals) the other stuff except in the studio. At least with my rock band.

Americana gig I have...well they want it to sound "just like the record" so I need some extra ********.

I have a bc-108 SunFace. I love that thing, but it is very very bright. It would be the perfect fuzz for me if it was just a hair darker. I think the BC-183 would be perfect for me. I want to play a few more gigs with my SunFace though. If I still think it is too bright then I'll sell it and buy a BC-183.

Ive had the Astrotone as well and it didnt feel and clean up like a fuzzface does but it was an incredible pedal. Miss that one.. very balanced and transparent for a fuzz pedal. It wasnt exactly a hendrix screaming solo kind of thing, but for a verstale do it all kind of fuzz, thats a great choice. Perfect for rythym stuff and it works well with any guitar. Its not quirky at all, and that's what I like about tonebenders and some others classic fuzz pedals... the "quirk" has a certain mojo and allure to it.

I just got my Sunface last week, NKT275 low gain. Man I love this pedal. The rolled back clean tone is just glorious. Not a lot of fuzz on tap but I don't like too much anyways. It's the perfect amount for me. With the fuzz full on and guitar volume knob full open it truly sounds like and old vintage amp about to blow. It's killer!!

I've tried a few Si fuzzes but they weren't my cup of tea. Probably because I prefer single coils. The Ge has that warmth that I couldn't get from silicon.

I probably can't remember all the fuzzfaces I've owned. Old Diaz, new Diaz, addrock (hism scism and geranium), Fulltone 69, Menatone Chawbox and PoPo, am 108, am 275 white dot, scarab deluxe, three or four London fuzzes, mjm two and three knob britbenders, several treble boosters, the astrotone, arctic white, just got the pink purple five minutes ago, and the himmelstrutz gramps+ is almost a fuzz. Bet I think of several more after I hit send. Pretty much loved them all. Fuzz is just fun. Regret selling almost all of them.

I miss the Astrotone at times as well. For me the pedal really shined with humbuckers. Jethro Tull type tones, Aqualung in spades. It does not need to be first in the chain either and still cleaned up well enough to leave on most of the time.

Ive had the Astrotone as well and it didnt feel and clean up like a fuzzface does but it was an incredible pedal. Miss that one.. very balanced and transparent for a fuzz pedal. It wasnt exactly a hendrix screaming solo kind of thing, but for a verstale do it all kind of fuzz, thats a great choice. Perfect for rythym stuff and it works well with any guitar. Its not quirky at all, and that's what I like about tonebenders and some others classic fuzz pedals... the "quirk" has a certain mojo and allure to it.

I agree. I also agree with you, Mapleneck.. I regret almost every fuzz pedal Ive sold. Almost like fondly remembering a past girl friend and her one great endearing quality, lol. You cant keep them all.

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Exactly. Except somehow the one I married. She turned out to be a boss metal zone. How I ended up leaving all those beautiful fuzzes and wound up married to a metal zone is beyond me. Fortunately she ran off with an off-brand transistor amp and now I'm buying every fuzz I can get my hands on. Life is good again.

The BC183 doesn't have much clean up going on. I bought mine because I wanted to use it for a big full fuzz tone on leads - which it did very well! I didn't like it for much else. But for leads, it's probably one of the best fuzz pedals I've used. Sounded amazing with a band too, amazing sustain.

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You sure? I got a chase tone bc183/182 fuzz face and it cleans up VERY nice. Crank the vol and roll the fuzz back. It might be tizzy cuz your fuzz is set too high. If you're going for classic tones then crank your amp first. If you ever watch Jimi Hendrix play voodoo, the first E Chord is sometimes with no fuzz but he has so much drive that it's hard to tell he doesn't actually have it on, until he actually kicks it on.

It's amazing how well this thing cleans up. It's almost as good as my JB FF. One thing that it does though, while backing off the volume on my guitar the pedal gets a lot more spikey/sharp treble just before getting almost totally clean.

I've never owned another FF that does this? Not sure exactly what's going on but I'm guessing it may have to do with the POTS as well as the way these two trannies were matched.

Sounds HUGE cranked. Nice, thick, chewy.

Really happy with it. It's called a Fuzzology and is supposedly made by a small builder out of Australia?

I've had some Si fuzzes I just couldn't quite warm up to. Guess I'm also more of a Ge kinda guy. I love Basic Audio pedals but I couldn't really fall in love with the Gnarly or Solar Myth (tho' I do have a BASD I love and I like the Spooky Tooth I'm still getting to know). The Astrotone was just a bit bright/thin for my setup.

I do like some of the Hybrids...I would suggest you try the Foxrox CC Hybrid which I have and really like. I'm also currently auditioning a SolidgoldFX If 6 Was 9.